Third Rail Raised Panel Door Design

[Kevin Stevens]

Hi

I am planning to build a wall unit. The Upper doors will be approximately 52 " high and 20" wide.

My question is how tall does the door need to be, before your need a third rail?

I am using wood for the rails and a plywood panel.

[Jamie Buxton]

The answer is strictly esthetics. With a glued-in plywood panel, there's no structural need for a third rail. You might try making a full-scale drawing and holding it up on the piece.

[Peter Quinn]

If the panels are fitted well and glued in there is no need structurally for additional rails beyond aesthetics. A card board or MDF mock up might help give you some sense of the visual impact your doors will have.

[Brian Peters]

Same as above, I still don't believe in gluing in plywood panels, mdf, veneered mdf fine but not plywood. Some do some don't, most disagree on the matter. 52" is a large door, I would put a middle rail in there and make the width of the stiles/rails and thickness thicker to coincide with that. Probably 1-1/4" thick, 2-1/2" stiles and rails, or somewhere close. Much of it is as the above poster said, aesthetics but you don't want it to be flinsy.

Oh by the way you said its a raised panel door? Plywood panel? Are you rim mitering it or something?

[Ray Schafer]

I would use an MDF cored veneer for the panel and I would glue it.

[James Hart]

Kevin,

Unless you're going to paint it I would pay particular attention to the veneer on the plywood. Better quality hardwood plywood will have veneers that are sliced rather than shaved off like a pencil shaving (might not be the exact terms, but you now what I'm talking about.)

With a door as big as you've described it sounds like the plywood will make up most of the face of the unit.

I agree with all of the earlier posts, especially the one suggesting you make the rails and stiles wider than normal to offset that big panel,

Jim